Discovery BoxIsaiah 30:1--31:9
Context30:1 “The rebellious 1 children are as good as dead,” 2 says the Lord,
“those who make plans without consulting me, 3
who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, 4
and thereby compound their sin. 5
30:2 They travel down to Egypt
without seeking my will, 6
seeking Pharaoh’s protection,
and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. 7
30:3 But Pharaoh’s protection will bring you nothing but shame,
and the safety of Egypt’s protective shade nothing but humiliation.
30:4 Though his 8 officials are in Zoan
and his messengers arrive at Hanes, 9
30:5 all will be put to shame 10
because of a nation that cannot help them,
who cannot give them aid or help,
but only shame and disgrace.”
30:6 This is a message 11 about the animals in the Negev:
Through a land of distress and danger,
inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, 12
by snakes and darting adders, 13
they transport 14 their wealth on the backs of donkeys,
their riches on the humps of camels,
to a nation that cannot help them. 15
30:7 Egypt is totally incapable of helping. 16
For this reason I call her
‘Proud one 17 who is silenced.’” 18
30:8 Now go, write it 19 down on a tablet in their presence, 20
inscribe it on a scroll,
so that it might be preserved for a future time
as an enduring witness. 21
30:9 For these are rebellious people –
they are lying children,
children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law. 22
30:10 They 23 say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”
and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! 24
Tell us nice things,
relate deceptive messages. 25
30:11 Turn aside from the way,
stray off the path. 26
Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” 27
30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“You have rejected this message; 28
you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, 29
and rely on that kind of behavior. 30
30:13 So this sin will become your downfall.
You will be like a high wall
that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse;
it crumbles suddenly, in a flash. 31
30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,
so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. 32
Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough 33
to scoop a hot coal from a fire 34
or to skim off water from a cistern.” 35
30:15 For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:
“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; 36
if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, 37
but you are unwilling.
30:16 You say, ‘No, we will flee on horses,’
so you will indeed flee.
You say, ‘We will ride on fast horses,’
so your pursuers will be fast.
30:17 One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier; 38
at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, 39
until the remaining few are as isolated 40
as a flagpole on a mountaintop
or a signal flag on a hill.”
30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;
he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. 41
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. 42
30:19 For people will live in Zion;
in Jerusalem 43 you will weep no more. 44
When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;
when he hears it, he will respond to you. 45
30:20 The sovereign master 46 will give you distress to eat
and suffering to drink; 47
but your teachers will no longer be hidden;
your eyes will see them. 48
30:21 You 49 will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,
“This is the correct 50 way, walk in it,”
whether you are heading to the right or the left.
30:22 You will desecrate your silver-plated idols 51
and your gold-plated images. 52
You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag,
saying to them, “Get out!”
30:23 He will water the seed you plant in the ground,
and the ground will produce crops in abundance. 53
At that time 54 your cattle will graze in wide pastures.
30:24 The oxen and donkeys used in plowing 55
will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork. 56
30:25 On every high mountain
and every high hill
there will be streams flowing with water,
at the time of 57 great slaughter when the fortified towers collapse.
30:26 The light of the full moon will be like the sun’s glare
and the sun’s glare will be seven times brighter,
like the light of seven days, 58
when the Lord binds up his people’s fractured bones 59
and heals their severe wound. 60
30:27 Look, the name 61 of the Lord comes from a distant place
in raging anger and awesome splendor. 62
He speaks angrily
and his word is like destructive fire. 63
30:28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river 64
that reaches one’s neck.
He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; 65
he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. 66
30:29 You will sing
as you do in the evening when you are celebrating a festival.
You will be happy like one who plays a flute
as he goes to the mountain of the Lord, the Rock who shelters Israel. 67
30:30 The Lord will give a mighty shout 68
and intervene in power, 69
with furious anger and flaming, destructive fire, 70
with a driving rainstorm and hailstones.
30:31 Indeed, the Lord’s shout will shatter Assyria; 71
he will beat them with a club.
30:32 Every blow from his punishing cudgel, 72
with which the Lord will beat them, 73
will be accompanied by music from the 74 tambourine and harp,
and he will attack them with his weapons. 75
30:33 For 76 the burial place is already prepared; 77
it has been made deep and wide for the king. 78
The firewood is piled high on it. 79
The Lord’s breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone,
will ignite it.
31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 80
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 81
and in their many, many horsemen. 82
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 83
and do not seek help from the Lord.
31:2 Yet he too is wise 84 and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree. 85
He will attack the wicked nation, 86
and the nation that helps 87 those who commit sin. 88
31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with 89 his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish. 90
31:4 Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me:
“The Lord will be like a growling lion,
like a young lion growling over its prey. 91
Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,
it is not afraid of their shouts
or intimidated by their yelling. 92
In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. 93
31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, 94
so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. 95
He will protect and deliver it;
as he passes over 96 he will rescue it.
31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! 97 31:7 For at that time 98 everyone will get rid of 99 the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made. 100
31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; 101
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. 102
They will run away from this sword 103
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
31:9 They will surrender their stronghold 104 because of fear; 105
their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.” 106
This is what the Lord says –
the one whose fire is in Zion,
whose firepot is in Jerusalem. 107
[30:1] 1 tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”
[30:1] 2 tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”
[30:1] 3 tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”
[30:1] 4 tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.
[30:1] 5 tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”
[30:2] 6 tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”
[30:2] 7 tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”
[30:4] 8 sn This probably refers to Judah’s officials and messengers.
[30:4] 9 sn Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta in the north; Hanes was located somewhere in southern region of lower Egypt, south of Memphis; the exact location is debated.
[30:5] 10 tn The present translation follows the marginal (Qere) reading of the Hebrew text; the consonantal text (Kethib) has “made to stink, decay.”
[30:6] 11 tn Traditionally, “burden” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “oracle.”
[30:6] 12 tc Heb “[a land of] a lioness and a lion, from them.” Some emend מֵהֶם (mehem, “from them”) to מֵהֵם (mehem), an otherwise unattested Hiphil participle from הָמַם (hamam, “move noisily”). Perhaps it would be better to take the initial mem (מ) as enclitic and emend the form to הֹמֶה (homeh), a Qal active participle from הָמָה (hamah, “to make a noise”); cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:542, n. 9.
[30:6] 13 tn Heb “flying fiery one.” See the note at 14:29.
[30:6] 14 tn Or “carry” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[30:6] 15 sn This verse describes messengers from Judah transporting wealth to Egypt in order to buy Pharaoh’s protection through a treaty.
[30:7] 16 tn Heb “As for Egypt, with vanity and emptiness they help.”
[30:7] 17 tn Heb “Rahab” (רַהַב, rahav), which also appears as a name for Egypt in Ps 87:4. The epithet is also used in the OT for a mythical sea monster symbolic of chaos. See the note at 51:9. A number of English versions use the name “Rahab” (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) while others attempt some sort of translation (cf. CEV “a helpless monster”; TEV, NLT “the Harmless Dragon”).
[30:7] 18 tn The MT reads “Rahab, they, sitting.” The translation above assumes an emendation of הֵם שָׁבֶת (hem shavet) to הַמָּשְׁבָּת (hammashbat), a Hophal participle with prefixed definite article, meaning “the one who is made to cease,” i.e., “destroyed,” or “silenced.” See HALOT 444-45 s.v. ישׁב.
[30:8] 19 tn The referent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the preceding message, which accuses the people of rejecting the Lord’s help in favor of an alliance with Egypt.
[30:8] 20 tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.
[30:8] 21 sn Recording the message will enable the prophet to use it in the future as evidence that God warned his people of impending judgment and clearly spelled out the nation’s guilt. An official record of the message will also serve as proof of the prophet’s authority as God’s spokesman.
[30:9] 22 tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”
[30:10] 23 tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:10] 24 tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”
[30:10] 25 tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”
[30:11] 26 sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.
[30:11] 27 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[30:12] 28 tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[30:12] 29 tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”
[30:12] 30 tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”
[30:13] 31 tn The verse reads literally, “So this sin will become for you like a breach ready to fall, bulging on a high wall, the breaking of which comes suddenly, in a flash.” Their sin produces guilt and will result in judgment. Like a wall that collapses their fall will be swift and sudden.
[30:14] 32 tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”
[30:14] 33 tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[30:14] 34 tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”
[30:14] 35 tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.
[30:15] 36 tn Heb “in returning and in quietness you will be delivered.” Many English versions render the last phrase “shall be saved” or something similar (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[30:15] 37 tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).
[30:17] 38 tn Heb “One thousand from before [or “because of”] one battle cry.” גְּעָרָה (gÿ’arah) is often defined as “threat,” but in war contexts it likely refers to a shout or battle cry. See Ps 76:6.
[30:17] 39 tn Heb “from before [or “because of”] the battle cry of five you will flee.
[30:17] 40 tn Heb “until you are left” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[30:18] 41 tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.
[30:18] 42 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
[30:19] 43 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[30:19] 44 tn Heb “For people in Zion will live, in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.” The phrase “in Jerusalem” could be taken with what precedes. Some prefer to emend יֵשֵׁב (yeshev, “will live,” a Qal imperfect) to יֹשֵׁב (yoshev, a Qal active participle) and translate “For [you] people in Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.”
[30:19] 45 tn Heb “he will indeed show you mercy at the sound of your crying out; when he hears, he will answer you.”
[30:20] 46 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
[30:20] 47 tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread – distress, and water – oppression.”
[30:20] 48 tn Heb “but your teachers will no longer be hidden, your eyes will be seeing your teachers.” The translation assumes that the form מוֹרֶיךָ (morekha) is a plural participle, referring to spiritual leaders such as prophets and priests. Another possibility is that the form is actually singular (see GKC 273-74 §93.ss) or a plural of respect, referring to God as the master teacher. See HALOT 560-61 s.v. III מוֹרֶה. For discussion of the views, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:560.
[30:21] 49 tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[30:21] 50 tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[30:22] 51 tn Heb “the platings of your silver idols.”
[30:22] 52 tn Heb “the covering of your gold image.”
[30:23] 53 tn Heb “and he will give rain for your seed which you plant in the ground, and food [will be] the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and abundant.”
[30:23] 54 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[30:24] 55 tn Heb “the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground.”
[30:24] 56 sn Crops will be so abundant that even the work animals will eat well.
[30:25] 57 tn Or “in the day of” (KJV).
[30:26] 58 sn Light here symbolizes restoration of divine blessing and prosperity. The number “seven” is used symbolically to indicate intensity. The exact meaning of the phrase “the light of seven days” is uncertain; it probably means “seven times brighter” (see the parallel line).
[30:26] 59 tn Heb “the fracture of his people” (so NASB).
[30:26] 60 tn Heb “the injury of his wound.” The joining of synonyms emphasizes the severity of the wound. Another option is to translate, “the wound of his blow.” In this case the pronominal suffix might refer to the Lord, not the people, yielding the translation, “the wound which he inflicted.”
[30:27] 61 sn The “name” of the Lord sometimes stands by metonymy for the Lord himself, see Exod 23:21; Lev 24:11; Pss 54:1 (54:3 HT); 124:8. In Isa 30:27 the point is that he reveals that aspect of his character which his name suggests – he comes as Yahweh (“he is present”), the ever present helper of his people who annihilates their enemies and delivers them. The name “Yahweh” originated in a context where God assured a fearful Moses that he would be with him as he confronted Pharaoh and delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. See Exod 3.
[30:27] 62 tn Heb “his anger burns, and heaviness of elevation.” The meaning of the phrase “heaviness of elevation” is unclear, for מַשָּׂאָה (masa’ah, “elevation”) occurs only here. Some understand the term as referring to a cloud (elevated above the earth’s surface), in which case one might translate, “and in heavy clouds” (cf. NAB “with lowering clouds”). Others relate the noun to מָשָׂא (masa’, “burden”) and interpret it as a reference to judgment. In this case one might translate, “and with severe judgment.” The present translation assumes that the noun refers to his glory and that “heaviness” emphasizes its degree.
[30:27] 63 tn Heb “his lips are full of anger, and his tongue is like consuming fire.” The Lord’s lips and tongue are used metonymically for his word (or perhaps his battle cry; see v. 31).
[30:28] 64 tn Heb “his breath is like a flooding river.” This might picture the Lord breathing heavily as he runs down his enemy, but in light of the preceding verse, which mentions his lips and tongue, “breath” probably stands metonymically for the word or battle cry that he expels from his mouth as he shouts. In Isa 34:16 and Ps 33:6 the Lord’s “breath” is associated with his command.
[30:28] 65 tn Heb “shaking nations in a sieve of worthlessness.” It is not certain exactly how שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness, worthlessness”) modifies “sieve.” A sieve is used to separate grain from chaff and isolate what is worthless so that it might be discarded. Perhaps the nations are likened to such chaff; God’s judgment will sift them out for destruction.
[30:28] 66 tn Heb “and a bit that leads astray [is] in the jaws of the peoples.” Here the nations are likened to horse that can be controlled by a bit placed in its mouth. In this case the Lord uses his sovereign control over the “horse” to lead it to its demise.
[30:29] 67 tn Heb “[you will have] joy of heart, like the one going with a flute to enter the mountain of the Lord to the Rock of Israel.” The image here is not a foundational rock, but a rocky cliff where people could hide for protection (for example, the fortress of Masada).
[30:30] 68 tn Heb “the Lord will cause the splendor of his voice to be heard.”
[30:30] 69 tn Heb “and reveal the lowering of his arm.”
[30:30] 70 tn Heb “and a flame of consuming fire.”
[30:31] 71 tn Heb “Indeed by the voice of the Lord Assyria will be shattered.”
[30:32] 72 tc The Hebrew text has “every blow from a founded [i.e., “appointed”?] cudgel.” The translation above, with support from a few medieval Hebrew
[30:32] 73 tn Heb “which the Lord lays on him.”
[30:32] 74 tn Heb “will be with” (KJV similar).
[30:32] 75 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and with battles of brandishing [weapons?] he will fight against him.” Some prefer to emend וּבְמִלְחֲמוֹת (uvÿmilkhamot, “and with battles of”) to וּבִמְחֹלוֹת (uvimkholot, “and with dancing”). Note the immediately preceding references to musical instruments.
[30:33] 77 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for arranged from before [or “yesterday”] is [?].” The meaning of תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh), which occurs only here, is unknown. The translation above (as with most English versions) assumes an emendation to תֹּפֶת (tofet, “Topheth”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) and places the final hey (ה) on the beginning of the next word as an interrogative particle. Topheth was a place near Jerusalem used as a burial ground (see Jer 7:32; 19:11).
[30:33] 78 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Also it is made ready for the king, one makes it deep and wide.” If one takes the final hey (ה) on תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh) and prefixes it to גָּם (gam) as an interrogative particle (see the preceding note), one can translate, “Is it also made ready for the king?” In this case the question is rhetorical and expects an emphatic affirmative answer, “Of course it is!”
[30:33] 79 tn Heb “its pile of wood, fire and wood one makes abundant.”
[31:1] 80 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
[31:1] 81 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
[31:1] 82 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
[31:1] 83 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[31:2] 84 sn This statement appears to have a sarcastic tone. The royal advisers who are advocating an alliance with Egypt think they are wise, but the Lord possesses wisdom as well and will thwart their efforts.
[31:2] 85 tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”
[31:2] 86 tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”
[31:2] 88 tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”
[31:3] 89 tn Heb “will extend”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV “stretch out.”
[31:3] 90 tn Heb “together all of them will come to an end.”
[31:4] 91 tn Heb “As a lion growls, a young lion over its prey.” In the Hebrew text the opening comparison is completed later in the verse (“so the Lord will come down…”), after a parenthesis describing how fearless the lion is. The present translation divides the verse into three sentences for English stylistic reasons.
[31:4] 92 tn Heb “Though there is summoned against it fullness of shepherds, by their voice it is not terrified, and to their noise it does not respond.”
[31:4] 93 tn Some prefer to translate the phrase לִצְבֹּא עַל (litsbo’ ’al) as “fight against,” but the following context pictures the Lord defending, not attacking, Zion.
[31:5] 94 tn Heb “just as birds fly.” The words “over a nest” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[31:5] 95 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[31:5] 96 tn The only other occurrence of this verb is in Exod 12:13, 23, 27, where the Lord “passes over” (i.e., “spares”) the Israelite households as he comes to judge their Egyptian oppressors. The noun פֶּסַח (pesakh, “Passover”) is derived from the verb. The use of the verb in Isa 31:5 is probably an intentional echo of the Exodus event. As in the days of Moses the Lord will spare his people as he comes to judge their enemies.
[31:6] 97 tn Heb “Return to the one [against] whom the sons of Israel made deep rebellion.” The syntax is awkward here. A preposition is omitted by ellipsis after the verb (see GKC 446 §138.f, n. 2), and there is a shift from direct address (note the second plural imperative “return”) to the third person (note “they made deep”). For other examples of abrupt shifts in person in poetic style, see GKC 462 §144.p.
[31:7] 98 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[31:7] 99 tn Heb “reject” (so NIV); NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT “throw away.”
[31:7] 100 tn Heb “the idols of their idols of silver and their idols of gold which your hands made for yourselves [in] sin.” חָטָא (khata’, “sin”) is understood as an adverbial accusative of manner. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:573, n. 4.
[31:8] 101 tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”
[31:8] 102 tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”
[31:8] 103 tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”
[31:9] 104 tn Heb “rocky cliff” (cf. ASV, NASB “rock”), viewed metaphorically as a place of defense and security.
[31:9] 105 tn Heb “His rocky cliff, because of fear, will pass away [i.e., “perish”].”
[31:9] 106 tn Heb “and they will be afraid of the flag, his officers.”
[31:9] 107 sn The “fire” and “firepot” here symbolize divine judgment, which is heating up like a fire in Jerusalem, waiting to be used against the Assyrians when they attack the city.
